A Philippine Sugar Cane District: Spatial Phenomena Affecting Sugar Cane Production on the Haciendas

摘要

The study primarily involves the analysis of physical and cultural factors affecting sugar cane yield although it will also further an understanding of the spatial organization of sugar cane production. The study is based on the Victorias Milling District, which covers approximately 37,000 hectares in northern Negros Occidental Province in the central Philippines. A simple model was used to describe the area's spatial organization of sugar cane production in the sphere of plantation agriculture. The model stipulates (1) an extensive land area, (2) mono-cropping, (3) centralized managerial control, (4) an abundant labor supply and (5) production for the export market. It has these further qualities which are believed to be comparable for most sugar cane districts in the Philippines: the characteristic hacienda-central settlements, the problems of mechanization, and the quota system for sugar cane. The yield factors studied were hacienda size, hauling distance from the hacienda to the mill, the slope, soil quality, the necessity for trucking, tenure, and the type of power used in land preparation. (Author)